Modern day integrated chips comprise millions or billions of semiconductor devices that are formed within a semiconductor body (e.g., a silicon wafer). The semiconductor devices are vertically connected to a back-end-of-the-line metallization stack comprising a plurality of overlying metal interconnect wires. The plurality of metal interconnect wires electrically connect the semiconductor devices to each other and to external components.
The plurality of metal interconnect wires increase in size as the distance from the semiconductor devices increases. Often the metal interconnect wires terminate at a bond pad located at a top of the back-end-of-the-line metallization stack. The bond pad may comprise a thick layer of metal that provides a conductive connection from the integrated chip to external components. For example, a metal wire may be configured to contact the bond pad to connect the bond pad to external leads of a package.